Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

DoubleClick is estimated to reach some 80-85% of global web users; the merger announcement drove Google shares to an all-time high.

Google is now under investigation by competition authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. The proposed merger has implications both for competition and, more seriously, for individual privacy.

Google’s expansion has in part come through launching new services, such as its planned ‘Weaver’ health information storage program, about which no-one can legitimately complain.

The rest comes from acquisitions such as that of YouTube last year, for €1.14bn, and now DoubleClick; both touch the exploitation of personal data, about which the European Commission has been commendably zealous.

Under Article 29 of the 1995 framework directive, a working party was established to ensure personal data is not abused, and under the 2002 directive on electronic communications, this body can investigate possible infringements. It recently wrote to Google asking it to explain why it retains users’ web history data for up to two years.

The response is as suspiciously vague as its privacy policy, which states: “We may combine personal information collected from you with information from other Google services or third parties to provide a better user experience.” Such data will be used for “good reasons”.

Meaning what, exactly? Does a ‘pledge’ not to use the data for profile-making and other ‘sly’ commercial practices really cut it? Is it the same as not doing evil? Google obviously believes so.

“Google uses cookies and other technologies to enhance your online experience and to learn about how you use Google services in order to improve the quality of our services,” consumers are reassured.

As most people now know, cookies are files sent to your computer when you visit a website; they ensure you are recognised when you come back.

It is possible, technically, to reset the browser to refuse all such invisible guests. In practice, many website features or services then do not work properly.

For the web advertising business, the technology is crucial. DoubleClick cookies track down user’s Internet Protocol addresses and visited sites and target ads based on their interests.

It has been prodigiously successful in building up a huge database, its back-end ad-server linking up advertising agencies, marketing companies and web-site publishers.

DoubleClick’s ‘Boomerang for Advertisers, Marketers and Agencies’ service will, typically, “tag” anyone visiting particular sites but not buying anything. When the user moves on to visit a website where DoubleClick’s client has placed an advertisement, he or she will be recognised via the so-called dart cookie and offered a targeted ad or promotion.

Combined with Google’s own vast database, the system could exploit information about millions of web surfers to wipe the floor with the competition. Such a plethora of detailed information can also leak, albeit unintentionally, to third sources.

Google says it has shown “good will” by offering consumers an opt-out. In reality, how many will realise what is at stake, or take effective action to stop their data from being collected and stored?

The European consumers’ organisation (BEUC) has expressed serious concerns about the risk of the pending DoubleClick merger creating an on-line advertising monopoly. It also argues that, since Google’s and DoubleClick’s databases are considered “complementary”, their combination could violate user privacy (eg, by creating detailed portraits of users).

The European Commission is likely to take these concerns very seriously. It has already announced it is extending the deadline for its DoubleClick takeover inquiry to 13 November. A formal investigation now looks probable and with it a more serious examination of how far computers are being programmed to watch us.

Spyros Pappas is an international lawyer based in Brussels. He was director-general for information in the European Commission to 1995. Additional research and analysis by Dr Katerina Dimitrakopoulou.